15 ELLE readers vote for their favorite among new releases we love—this month, fiction about Marilyn Monroe's death a half-century ago

Most Read

"I was never much of a Marilyn Monroe fan," one reader confessed about her leery approach to this reimagining of the last weekend of the star's life by Braver, an admired literary novelist and writing teacher, "but this story rewinds the clichés that have become the story of her life and death and brings you the actress as a newly empathetic character."

Misfit is a novel about how Norma Jean Mortenson tried to overcome her difficult childhood by becoming Marilyn Monroe, and then how she in turn struggled to get past her Marilyn Monroe image. It recounts how she tried to reinvent herself by marrying outside Hollywood and studying acting in New York City. The insights into her marriages are interesting, as are the descriptions of her relationships with other celebrities, such as Frank Sinatra. However, it was often frustrating not knowing which details are real and which are from the author's imagination.—Cynthia Taub, Washington DC

This is one of those novels you continually forget is a novel. It puts you right into the thoughts and motivations of the famous personalities of the era. I was never much of a Marilyn Monroe fan, but this story rewinds the clichés that have become the story of her life and death and brings you the actress as a newly empathetic character. As a novel it is not an entirely complete rendition of her life—it leaves out much of the seamier or more controversial parts—but it makes for a very entertaining story and brings the star that was Marilyn closer to our grasp.—K. Amerson, Bratt, FL

I enjoyed the journal-entry format and learning more about the life and loves of this American icon. Braver takes the time to delve into the woman that Monroe wanted to be seen as—a serious actress separate from her often tumultuous relationships and her family's history of mental illness. Monroe is characterized as a woman struggling with inner demons and pushing the limits of acceptable behavior, all the while moving in and out of the spotlight.—Mary Pat Rooney, Chicago

Misfits focuses too much on Monroe's internal struggles for my taste. The author spends a lot of time in her head, and while this gives the book a dreamy quality that's part of its charm, it also blunts the impact of any narrative thread.—Betsy Denson, Houston

This historical fiction follows Marilyn Monroe primarily through her making of the movie Misfits. At the start, it moves back and forth among time periods, points of view, and tenses at such a fast clip that it can be difficult to get into the story. However, once it gets going, it proves to be intriguing and absorbing. Braver offers an intelligent and complex glance at the myth of Marilyn and the reality of Norma Jean's fragility.—Kaarin Moore, Washington, DC

If this novel is at all accurate, Marilyn was not very smart or talented, got by on her looks, charm, and appeal as an ingénue, and was someone to be coveted. This makes her very hard to like, yet she's the subject of the book. The narration switches between the first and third person, which is confusing, though you get used to it quickly—after which it creates a feeling of distance between us and Marilyn, positioning her as an outsider. I had trouble finding the focus of the story. I kept asking myself, "But why should I care?"—Marie Robinson,
Crofton, MD

The voice with which Braver empowers the idolized film princess is for the most part calm, calculating, and self-aware of her actions and their consequences. It's an enlightening read sprinkled with historical truth and casting the platinum blonde as an intellectual for a change.—Amanda Umlandt, Melfa, VA

A more noirish and lurid undertaking, narrated— possibly unreliably—by the coroner to whom it falls to try to sort out Monroe's famously enigmatic death, Baker's novel turned off some folks as an all-too-guilty pleasure. But one fan enthused, "It's L.A. Confidential meets the Bio channel, with a little TMZ thrown in for fun."

This is an engrossing murder mystery featuring real historical figures, including the Kennedy family, Frank Sinatra, and of course Marilyn Monroe. The author weaves all of the dark conspiracy theories that swirled around Monroe's death into a taut noir novel, complete with a presidential affair, mobsters, and double-crossing dames. It's LA Confidential meets the Bio Channel, with a little TMZ thrown in for fun.—Cynthia Taub, Washington DC

This novel centers on one deputy-coroner-turned-gumshoe and his probing into the conspiracy surrounding the death of Monroe, as he tells it to the investigator after his own arrest. Reading it felt like listening to the gritty narrative voice-over of an old flickering black-and-white movie. All it was missing was the popcorn. True to the conspiracy, it's hard to tell which characters surrounding her, both in life and in death, are playing for the good guys...and in a contest between the 1960s LAPD and the Mafia, is there a good side?—K. Amerson, Bratt, FL

This novel offers an interesting take on Monroe's demise, detailing the skewed world she lived in and the manner in which those around her may have led her toward death.—Mary Pat Rooney, Chicago

I liked the noir aspects of this novel but found the narrative a little jumpy and disjointed—much like the narrator himself.—Betsy Denson, Houston

Focusing on the coroner investigating Marilyn's death and giving him a story of his own does much to flesh out the time period surrounding Marilyn's height of fame, but it is not quite compelling enough to make the mystery surrounding Marilyn's death any more intriguing.—Marie Robinson, Crofton, MD

The death of Monroe acts as a stage for this novel, centered around a well-intentioned, chain-smoking-but-intending-to-quit, probably alcoholic but completely loveable L.A. County Coroner who is summoned to the scene of her alleged suicide. As Ben Fitzgerald focuses his energy on uncovering the truth regarding her death, his own life, already unraveling, accelerates in a downward spiral. In the end, his drugs, alcohol, and paranoia parallel Monroe's, yet somehow they provide him with a fictional glimpse into her last days and an answer to ''whodunnit?"—Amanda Umlandt, Melfa, VA

NOTE: A third book was, as usual, chosen for this month's Readers' Prize competition, but its publisher later canceled its scheduled release.